Teachers making late moves to Clark County

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2003 | 11:15 a.m.

With less than two weeks until the start of the school year, hundreds of new teachers will spend the rest of this week attending curriculum and policy workshops, learning their way around town and in some cases, finding a place to live.

As of Monday, the Clark County School District had hired 985 teachers, with another 315 offers pending, said George Ann Rice, associate superintendent of human resources. There are still more than 300 vacancies to be filled, with many of the open positions in special education, mathematics and science, Rice said.

District officials say the legislative budget impasse and uncertainty over school funding was what forced them to suspend hiring June 17. When the district resumed making job offers a month later, many of the candidates had either lost interest or accepted jobs elsewhere, Rice said.

"The Legislature mess put us way behind, but we're working, working, working to catch up," Rice said. "We're probably not going to get everyone we need by the first day, but we're going to get as close as we can."

Christine Montgomery, who had spent seven years as a substitute teacher in Sonoma County, Calif., was thrilled to finally get a job offer from the Clark County School District at the end of July. But the late notice has left her scrambling to find housing and worried about coming up with lesson plans for her fifth-grade class.

"It's been a hardship, trying to pull everything together at the last minute," Montgomery said Monday in a telephone interview. "I'm excited to have the job, but I'm a little nervous because I don't know all of the curriculum yet or even where my school is."

Montgomery, who is scheduled to arrive this evening, will spend at least the first few nights as a guest of Station Casinos, thanks to a partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and the School District, Rice said. Several area hotels have offered rooms to new teachers while they look for housing, Rice said.

The offer will be a big help, said Montgomery, who estimated she's spent $2,700 preparing to teach in Clark County, including everything from certification classes to the fingerprinting required for her FBI background check.

"We're pleased to be able to help some of these folks out," said Leslie Pittman, spokeswoman for Station Casinos. "We appreciate their willingness to come here and be part of our community."

There are also some teachers who say they are willing to come here but are still waiting for the invitation to do so.

Michelle Dixon of Portland, Ore., said Monday she's been waiting anxiously since July 25 when she received a call from the district asking whether she was still interested in working in Clark County. Dixon is seeking her first teaching position. She and her fiance have their bags packed.

"I'm sitting here surrounded by boxes full of our stuff," Dixon said. "They just need to give us the word and we'll be there."

Dixon said she spoke with a district official last week and was told that because of the late date, hiring preference was being given to teachers already living in Clark County, in order to have as many teachers as possible on board for training prior to the start of classes Aug. 25.

"It's incredibly frustrating that we may be counted out because we're not there already," Dixon said. "But it didn't make sense for us to invest in the move when we didn't know if we were even going to get jobs."

Another consideration, Dixon said, is the district's size. The couple has made several visits to Clark County and have been approved for a home loan, but decided to put off buying a house because they feared being trapped into lengthy commutes if they were assigned to schools far from home.

"I feel like we're exactly the kind of people the district wants as teachers -- we've hung in all summer, we're ready to move, we want to buy a house and put down roots," Dixon said. "At this point I just want someone to tell us one way or another what's happening. Even if turns out the district doesn't think we're desirable candidates, at least tell us that."

New teachers met this morning at Bob Miller Middle School in Henderson for "Get to Know Your Community Day." Welcome luncheons will be held at Cox Pavilion later this week, with Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., scheduled to attend Thursday and Gov. Kenny Guinn to put in an appearance Friday.